"You Are an Empath"

All my life, I have been sensitive.  I cried easily, my stomach was in knots most of the time and I hated being around large crowds. I used to wonder why I would cry while reading a book or watching TV.  Then one day in March of 2013, the answer came to me and my life changed.

On that day in March, I was vending at an expo.  I had a wonderful lady approach my table and we had an instant connection.    She and I talked about how sensitive she was and I explained my sensitivity to her.  That’s when she said “You are an empath”.  Those four words changed my life!

I asked her what an empath was and she started explaining how I was soaking up everyone’s energies around me.  Quickly, I realized that not only was I feeling everyone’s emotions, but I also take on any physical or mental problems they may have.  This affected my health - I was on anti-depressants and I had been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and digestive issues.

I learned to stay away from toxic relationships and situations. I limit my interaction with the public whenever possible.  This enables me to do the work I love to do at shows. Additionally, I stopped watching the news or reading the newspaper.

I quickly learned how to shield and began using crystals to protect myself.   I shield myself by imagining a white light surrounding me and use labradorite to provide energetic protection.  I make sure that I am grounded every morning and carry hematite or black tourmaline with me to help. I use malachite to absorb any bad feelings that may arise and lepidolite to calm me when I feel stressed.

By taking these precautions, I no longer take anti-depressants, my pain has almost disappeared and I currently only have acid reflux.  I still cry when I read a book or watch TV but I am a lot more emotionally stable.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting a young lady at a show.  She was complaining about a stomach ache to her mom.  I knew immediately what was wrong; I talked to her and her mom about being empathic.  We talked about how she can help herself when she feels overwhelmed and how being empathic isn’t a bad thing and can be managed.  I can only hope I was able to help her because growing up feeling like that just plain sucks.

I am still learning something new every day about being an empath and I hope that I can pass this information on for anyone else going through this.